Bassjackers Talk Career, Summer Festivals With Crossfadr

Starting to collaborate in 2007, Bassjackers have quickly ascended to EDM prominence with two widely-played singles: first “Beat Cut,” which was promoted by Fedde Le Grand, and then “Mush Mush,” a pervasive tune at many of the summer festivals in 2011. At this point, if you haven’t heard of Bassjackers, you’ve probably heard them.

Playing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, then recently at Electric Daisy Carnival, and now scheduled for the upcoming UMF Poland, Bassjackers are Marlon Flohr and Ralph van Hilst. Before working together, both were already involved in EDM, Marlon as a DJ and Ralph experimented with producing. As they play the festival circuit, Bassjackers spoke with Crossfadr.

How was your latest experience playing at EDC Vegas?

Bassjackers: That was one of the sickest gigs ever!! Such a huge milestone for us to be added at the main stage of one of the biggest festivals in the world!! We can’t even describe the feeling of playing such an enormous crowd

You’ve been added to the bill for UMF Poland. How do you feel about playing at the first Ultra Music Festival in Europe?

Bassjackers: It’s a great honor to be part of that. The lineup is massive, and Ultra Miami was crazy, so really looking forward to that one!!

Why did you decide to start playing music together?

Marlon: We have been friends for a long time, and Ralph was already playing around with creating beats at the time. I started DJing as a hobby, and then we decided to try to make music to play out at our local club. The first track was born within a few months and got picked up by Fedde Le Grand. That’s how it all started.

You’ve remixed well-known artists before. Who would you like to remix?

Ralph: Would be sweet to rework something of Michael Jackson’s.

Who would you like to remix a Bassjackers track?

Bassjackers: Tiesto, Afrojack, Deadmau5.

What projects do you have planned for the future – either new music or tours?

Bassjackers: We’ve got our collab with Showtek coming up on Musical Freedom in July and working on some other collabs and originals, as well.

What’s your perspective on the recent electronic music boom in the U.S.?

Bassjackers: It’s amazing that the biggest market in the world is now really starting to pick up on the electronic music, and we are so happy to be part of that.

Has this sudden preference for EDM in the U.S. influenced your sound or approach to music in any way?

Bassjackers: We keep doing what we always did: make banging tracks and play out high energy bass-stuffed sets with a nice party vibe to it!!

How do you feel about the success of your track “Mush Mush”? Did you think this track would end up being this popular?

Bassjackers: We never thought it would be that big when we just finished it. We even sent it to some labels that didn’t respond. Then, Tiesto picked it up and wanted to release it. At that point, we started to believe in the track, and when it hit Beatport top 10 and got played on all the festivals, that was the best feeling ever.

As far as equipment is concerned, what do you prefer to use in the studio? What do you use live?

In the studio a Macbook Pro with FLstudio and Dynaudio monitors, and live, just a USB device, 4 CDJ 2000s and ADJM800/900 mixer – we guess less is more 🙂